There are numerous styles of conventional hitch attachments on the current market for towing vehicles where attempts have been made to design a hitch capable of accommodating differently sized hitch balls. Most of these hitches, however, include disadvantages.
A cluster-type hitch is depicted in Riddle U.S. Pat. 2,911,233 issued Nov. 3, 1959. The Riddle device includes a plate carried by an upstanding sleeve and having a plurality of various sized ball connectors disposed on the outer face. This structure, however, has many disadvantages based on numerous weak points in the construction of the device. For example, relatively great loads or stresses are placed on a hitch of this type at the juncture between the upstanding sleeve and the brackets securing the device to the vehicle which can cause device failure at the weak points resulting in the hitch collapsing or failing to function properly.
A Multiple Connection Trailer Hitch apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,279 to Dirck issued Jun. 26, 1984. The Dirck device includes a rotatable plate member and has at least two connection members of varying diametric sizes secured to a safety bumper of a vehicle. The plate is connected with the bumper by a sleeve and bolt arrangement whereby a locking pin is removed for permitting rotation of the plate to the desired position. The Dirck apparatus, however, also has disadvantages because of its inability to accommodate more than two hitch balls (See FIG. 5) at anyone time due to its small plate diameter. Secondly, the Dirck structure uses two plates on top of one another; and then when using ball type hitches, the balls must be welded onto the top plate preventing the use of the stronger standard-type ball and threaded stem assembly. This type of hitch further restricts the use of a standard pin-type hitch connection. A further problem with the Dirck apparatus is that the plates are bolted through the center. Therefore, when a large load is placed upon the hitch there is a tendency for the hitch to torque about the center bolt.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of known designs for multiple ball trailer hitch connections, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to the user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail hereinbelow with respect to several alternative embodiments of the present invention.